Estate of Ford v. Eicher

220 P.3d 939, 2008 Colo. App. LEXIS 2128, 2008 WL 5173615
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 11, 2008
Docket06CA1625
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 220 P.3d 939 (Estate of Ford v. Eicher) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Estate of Ford v. Eicher, 220 P.3d 939, 2008 Colo. App. LEXIS 2128, 2008 WL 5173615 (Colo. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinions

Opinion by

Judge ROTHENBERG.

In this medical malpractice action, defendants, Danny J. Eicher, M.D. and Consultants in Obstetrics and Gynecology, P.C. (collectively Dr. Eicher), appeal a judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff, the Estate of Catherine Ford. We reverse and remand for a new trial.

I. Background

On August 27, 2001, Joy Ford was admitted to the Rose Medical Center for the induction of labor. Her primary obstetrician practiced with a group of doctors, including Dr. Eicher. Joy Ford had previously been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, a condition in which babies can become macrosomic (abnormally large), which creates a danger that the baby will have difficulty passing through the mother's vaginal canal. Dr. Eicher was on call at the time labor began, and he assumed the responsibility of delivering the baby.

As the baby descended the birth canal, Dr. Eicher made a diagnosis of shoulder dysto-cia, which occurs when a baby's shoulder becomes caught in the birth canal after its head is delivered. This prevents the full delivery of the baby and is considered an obstetrical emergency. In Sturgis v. Bayside Health Ass'n Chartered, 942 A2d 579, 582 (Del.2007), the Delaware Supreme Court explained the nature of the emergency in a negligence case brought against a nurse-midwife:

This rare complication jeopardized [the baby's] life. If [the nurse-midwife] did not deliver [her] within five to seven minutes, [she] would be deprived of oxygen for a long enough period of time to damage her vital organs.
Although [the nurse-midwife] needed to act quickly, she still needed to proceed with great care. In order to free [the baby] for delivery, [the nurse-midwife] needed to ensure that she did not apply undue force, known as excess traction, on [the baby's] head. If the nurse-midwife applied excess traction, she might separate the nerves in [the baby's] shoulder and cause a brachial plexus injury [which is caused by damage to the network of [942]*942nerves that conducts signals from the spine to the shoulder, arm, and hand]. A brachial plexus injury could potentially limit [the] use of her arm for the rest of her life.
To reduce excess traction, obstetricians have developed a number of procedures to dislodge the baby from the pubic bone for delivery and to minimize the likelihood of a brachial plexus injury. According to the medical literature, when the nurse-midwife discovers shoulder dystocia, she could apply suprapubic pressure, le. push above the mother's pubic bone, in an attempt to dislodge the baby without pulling on her head. The nurse-midwife might follow that by performing the McRoberts maneuver, where, with the help of an assistant, the nurse-midwife positions the mother's legs to maximize the potential opening for the baby to pass through. Finally, the nurse-midwife could apply the Woods cork-serew maneuver to reposition the baby and potentially free her for delivery. These procedures attempt to eliminate excessive traction or pressure on the baby's head and limit the possibility of a brachial plexus injury.

In this case, there was trial testimony that, as the baby's head descended the birth canal, her left shoulder was anterior (up), and her right shoulder was posterior (down). This is referred to as a right occiput anterior presentation. There was also testimony here, as in Sturgis, that obstetricians have developed several emergency maneuvers to dislodge the baby from the mother's pubic bone and facilitate delivery without excess traction (pulling) by the doctor. These procedures are designed to minimize the likelihood of an injury to the baby's brachial plexus, a group of nerves stemming from the spinal cord at the neck that are responsible for movement and sensation in the shoulder and arm.

Dr. Eicher testified that he used the McRoberts maneuver by positioning the mother's legs to maximize the potential opening for the baby to pass through; that he also applied suprapubic pressure by having the nurse apply pressure on the mother's pubic bone to dislodge the impacted shoulder; that as the nurse applied such pressure, he applied traction; and that the baby was delivered. He denied applying excessive traction.

The baby, who was named Catherine, was diagnosed with a brachial plexus injury to the right shoulder. The Estate that was established for the minor child filed this action for medical malpractice, alleging that Dr. Eicher failed properly to inform Catherine's parents about the risks of a vaginal birth as opposed to a caesarian section, and that he applied excessive traction to deliver the baby. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the Estate, and the trial court entered judgment accordingly.

II. Motion to Preclude Expert Testimony

Dr. Eicher contends the trial court abused its discretion in granting the Estate's pretrial motion to preclude his two defense experts from expressing opinions regarding the cause of Catherine's injury. We agree.

A. Standard of Review

Trial courts have broad discretion to determine the admissibility of expert testimony, and their rulings will not be overturned absent an abuse of that discretion. City of Aurora v. Colo. State Eng'r, 105 P.3d 595, 612 (Colo.2005). However, a trial court abuses its discretion when its decision is manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, or unfair, or when it applies an incorrect legal standard. People v. Ibarra, 849 P.2d 33, 38 (Colo.1993); People v. Prieto, 124 P.3d 842, 849 (Colo.App.2005).

The admission of scientific evidence and expert testimony is governed by CRE 702. People v. Shreck, 22 P.3d 68, 77-78 (Colo. 2001); see Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 589, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993).

The purpose of a CRE 702 inquiry is to determine whether the proffered scientific evidence is reliable and relevant, and for the trial court-acting as a gatekeeper-to prevent the admission of "junk science." Elsayed Mukhtar v. California State University, Hayward, 299 F.3d 1053, 1063 (9th Cir.2002) ("The trial court must act as a 'gatekeeper' to exclude "junk science' that does not meet Rule 702's reliability standards by mak[943]*943ing a preliminary determination that the expert's testimony is reliable.") (citing Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 147-48, 119 S.Ct. 1167, 143 L.Ed.2d 238 (1999), amended, 319 F.3d 1073 (9th Cir.2003); see General Elec. Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136, 154 n. 6, 118 S.Ct. 512, 139 L.Ed.2d 508 (1997) (an example of "junk science" that should be excluded under Daubert as too unreliable "would be the testimony of a phrenologist who would purport to prove a defendant's future dangerousness based on the contours of the defendant's skull."); cf. Transcontinental Ins. Co. v.

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Estate of Ford v. Eicher
220 P.3d 939 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2008)

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Bluebook (online)
220 P.3d 939, 2008 Colo. App. LEXIS 2128, 2008 WL 5173615, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/estate-of-ford-v-eicher-coloctapp-2008.